Rumor on changes to Disney Dining Plan

[Hockey89]

Not sure how it "Slows Service" and lowers standards....I don't see how you connect those dots...So much is dependent upon who you hire at the restaurant to staff it and what quality of food do you buy to serve - In fact, it has sped up service time, at least with us because we pretty much know what we are going to order - Other than one instance at Yachtmans Steakhouse where we had a waiter who just had too many tables for a period, we have had excellence service at every signature dining establishment and very good service at 1 credit places. Service times are slowed by guests who have decision making disorder, large groups with very picky eaters, or folks who have no idea of what anything is on the menu and need every dish explained to them, not because our wristband has to be scanned and then we are told how many credits will be deducted - which takes all of 6 seconds.

How it slows service? Pretty simple. Three times over the last two trips our meal has stopped dead in it tracks as the wait staff tries to figure out large tables on DDP.... At least 20 mins each time.... We inquired every time and they said issues with the DDP..... Maybe we had back luck but 12 dinners.... 3 times it has happened... That is not a good ratio....

 

[Pete256]

you are talking to a person who only has 3 in his family and has had large groups, no matter where I am - dining in my hometown, Disney, Vegas, etc come close to ruining my dinner. We have always been "back burnered " by wait staff who also has to wait on a large group no matter where we are at - the fact that they don't have the self awareness to see they are creating chaos also trying to divvy it up among a dining plan is about the person doing it.

 

[Hockey89]

you are talking to a person who only has 3 in his family and has had large groups, no matter where I am - dining in my hometown, Disney, Vegas, etc come close to ruining my dinner. We have always been "back burnered " by wait staff who also has to wait on a large group no matter where we are at - the fact that they don't have the self awareness to see they are creating chaos also trying to divvy it up among a dining plan is about the person doing it.

you are talking to a person who only has 3 in his family and has had large groups, no matter where I am - dining in my hometown, Disney, Vegas, etc come close to ruining my dinner. We have always been "back burnered " by wait staff who also has to wait on a large group no matter where we are at - the fact that they don't have the self awareness to see they are creating chaos also trying to divvy it up among a dining plan is about the person doing it.

No, DDP creates the problem.... By large group of talking 6 to 8 people.... Also, having been to Vegas and nyc eating all the time and I can't think of three times total in 10 years.... Sorry the DDP helps cause these issues....

 

[Pete256]

Then start a petition to get rid of it and present it to Mickey. You are SO convinced and SO sure, I guess explaining any benefits of it is useless. I guess a DDP is a horrible thing because when a large group that chooses to use it sits near you it deteriorates your experience. Got it. Like I said in my original post, things work for some people that don't work for others. If I was in a signature dining restaurant dropping a few hundred $$$, I would call over a manager long before being ignored for an elapsed 20 minutes and politely explain how being ignored is unacceptable.

 

[R W B]

We left the "world" today and the cashier at our resort offered us the 3 snack credits for a QS credit. We had 10QS remaining so loaded up on candy for gift bags for our daughters up coming birthday party. The cashier was laughing at our 30 lollipops and pez!! $123 in candy!! So for us it was a great exchange as we were only 30mins from going to the airport and we're going to waste the credits. I will add we had free dining.

Ok, gotta ask. How did you end up with 10QS credits remaining? Did you all just not eat during your stay? Lol

 

[ibisti]

Ok, gotta ask. How did you end up with 10QS credits remaining? Did you all just not eat during your stay? Lol

Dud we not eat? Ha ha ha, ask my scales on return! The thing is we booked lots of TS this time so there wasn't enough time to use up the QS credits. We wanted to try some new to us TS but also some old favourites. So on a 10 day vacation we ended up with 14 TS so had to pay OOP for 4 of those. As we got free dining it wasn't an issue and the credit exchange was a nice surprise. On a couple of days we had a TS buffet for breakfast and a TS dinner booked so didn't need lunch.

 

[DisneyChick123]

I like the fact that I can now change the free dessert to something else. I'm not always in a dessert type of mood.

Me too! Especially the yucky(to my family) chocolate cake that comes with most quick service places. Glad I can change it to another snack option! Works great for my family as we use to just either throw it away or give it to a table beside ours

 

[Deranged Hermit]

How it slows service? Pretty simple. Three times over the last two trips our meal has stopped dead in it tracks as the wait staff tries to figure out large tables on DDP.... At least 20 mins each time.... We inquired every time and they said issues with the DDP..... Maybe we had back luck but 12 dinners.... 3 times it has happened... That is not a good ratio....

My family, my brother's family and my parents (12 people total, we always eat dinner together) have been to Disney three times the last two years, all with the free dining plan, and have only had a problem once, at Narcoossee’s. It was definitely frustrating at the time, but it didn't hold up our dinners, it just held us up at the end. Silver lining though, we got to watch the fireworks from our table.
A 1 out of 15 ratio ain't bad in my opinion.

 

[dreamfinder]

Not sure how it "Slows Service" and lowers standards....I don't see how you connect those dots...So much is dependent upon who you hire at the restaurant to staff it and what quality of food do you buy to serve - In fact, it has sped up service time, at least with us because we pretty much know what we are going to order - Other than one instance at Yachtmans Steakhouse where we had a waiter who just had too many tables for a period, we have had excellence service at every signature dining establishment and very good service at 1 credit places. Service times are slowed by guests who have decision making disorder, large groups with very picky eaters, or folks who have no idea of what anything is on the menu and need every dish explained to them, not because our wristband has to be scanned and then we are told how many credits will be deducted - which takes all of 6 seconds.

Except there are large swaths of people that don't understand how the DDP works, or what is included in their meal. These are often the same people who wait in a QS line, and don't look at the menu til they get to the register. This is why every time you sit down at a TS meal, the CM asks "Are you on the DDP?" because they then take the time to go through and point out what you are able to get with your particular plan, or not able to get. I'd wager about 50% of the time I've been in a QS line behind someone on the DDP, the guest orders 4 entrees, 2 desserts and 3 sodas. The CM then tells them they can select 2 more desserts and another soda. And mom/dad inevitably spends 30-45 seconds trying to decide if Johnny wants the chocolate cake or the carrot cake and what type of soda they want since dad/mom took the kids to claim a table already.

If you and your group know the ins and outs of plan, and know exactly what to order and how to do so, that's great. More people on the DDP need to be like you. Most guests however don't have a clue.

And the lowering of standards is pretty much accepted across the board. The restaurant gets a certain set amount of money back for each DDP swipe they accept/redeem. So since pretty much all entrees are covered by the DDP, any entree needs to cost the restaurant less to serve than they get for the DDP swipe to allow them to turn a profit. A few years back most restaurants switched to a cheaper lesser quality steak. That is most easily identified lowering of standards, but I'm sure we can dig up some others.

 

[Pete256]

Yes, we do plan ahead, understand the plan and even look at the menu on line for the dinners - I never really understood why everyone's brain turns to mush when they get there and have to function. In fact, I am not sure how you go to Disney without doing a bunch of planning - dinner reservations, even lunch reservations in some cases, Fast Pass, etc - How do you do all of this and handle all the details then completely crash in comprehending appetizer, entrée & dessert? - or now subbing a soup or salad for the dessert - Disney does a really good job labeling everything and providing the details, etc. Disney, to me is not a fly by the seat of your pants/its fun to be disorganized because we are on vacation type place - You pay ALOT of $$$ to go there and stay on property, and if you are not a fast food/live on sandwiches type person who is willing to pay for a good meal, you have to plan and understand what you are getting into.

 

[jackson2005]

Dud we not eat? Ha ha ha, ask my scales on return! The thing is we booked lots of TS this time so there wasn't enough time to use up the QS credits. We wanted to try some new to us TS but also some old favourites. So on a 10 day vacation we ended up with 14 TS so had to pay OOP for 4 of those. As we got free dining it wasn't an issue and the credit exchange was a nice surprise. On a couple of days we had a TS buffet for breakfast and a TS dinner booked so didn't need lunch.

This is why I think you should be able to trade 2 quick service for one table serve!

 

[MRGEFF]

So the "official" news posted by @wdwmagic includes (amongst others -- I'm only copying the ones I had comments on) the following "changes"

Snacks
The snack entitlement has been updated to now include:

• All quick service menu side dishes.
• At breakfast, the following are considered snacks:
  Cereal with milk (including Create Your Own)
  French toast sticks
  Oatmeal or quinoa (including Create Your Own)
  Grits
  Side of bacon
  Side of sausage
  Side of eggs
  Side of potatoes
  Biscuits and gravy
  Hard-boiled eggs

Table Service Restaurants

• There is no longer a restriction on the number of entitlements that can be used at a meal. Eg. A group of 2 guests on the Disney Dining Plan could use 1 additional entitlement for a guest in that party - making a total of 3 entitlements used for the group of 3 diners.
• At some locations, a dessert may be substituted for a side salad, soup or fruit plate if available.

Quick Service Restaurants

• A dessert or beverage from the Quick Service Meal entitlement can be substituted for any snack item on the menu within the same order.
• A Quick Service Meal can be substituted for 3 snack eligible items within the same order.
• At Quick Service locations, child meal entitlements can be used for an adult meal.

Allowing all side dishes to be snacks at QS locations is great. I was always baffled by the selections that were and weren't available. Sometimes, one side dish wasn't available as a snack even though another priced exactly the same was.

The addition to the breakfast items available as snacks would mean, for me, that my family of four could easily eat breakfast with 1 snack each or maybe 1 QS meal and 3 snacks.

The TS change to no longer restrict the number of entitlements that can be used effectively removes any limitation of using credits to only the people on the plan. There was previously no way to really enforce, but this change makes "official" policy that you can use the meal credits for guests, friends, etc. I find that somewhat surprising.

And for TS you can get a salad or soup instead of a dessert. Not quite "bringing back the appetizer", but it's a start. My wife and I would almost choose one salad and one dessert to share, instead of two desserts, if given this choice.

Allowing you to pick a side item instead of a beverage at QS is also something I'd love. Half the time, I prefer to drink tap water with my QS meal, so the drink is a waste. Let me grab a side item instead, and I can now use that item to feed my five year old, instead of wasting another meal credit.

Substituting 3 snacks for a QS meal might be useful at times, particularly if I have credits left at the end, but also when my kid doesn't want a burger and a cupcake, but would like chili fries and corn on the cob.

I'm confused by the note about QS child now being able to be used for adult meals. That's been the case forever, since the system doesn't differentiate. And cast members haven't been shy about telling people that.

Thanks for the new dining changes info. We are using the DDP for the first time in the fall (we saved over $500 on the hotel by changing from BC to SSR plus we got free dining) and your post answered the questions we had.

 

[sxeensweet]

You have to be kidding me you can't get a dole whip anymore as a snack on the DP? If true that sucks

You can get the dole whip or citrus swirl. The only thing you can't Is the Dole whip float. So don't worry you can still use it on your regular dole whip or citrus swirls.

 

[sxeensweet]

Me too! Especially the yucky(to my family) chocolate cake that comes with most quick service places. Glad I can change it to another snack option! Works great for my family as we use to just either throw it away or give it to a table beside ours

The chocolate cake is not at that many places actually and where they do have it there is other choices like carrot cake etc available.
There is a lot of other different deserts at the QS locations. I have not had chocolate cake more than a few times over our last 6 trips that we always have a dining plan.
Lots more options if you dine at a variety of QS places. We have had carrot cake (cosmic rays/pecos bills), brownie (caseys&EOS), strawberry cheesecake (electric umbrella), chocolate mousse (pizzafari/restaurantaurus), apple pie (liberty inn @ Epcot), chocolate cake, various cupcakes (BOG, The MarA, Captain cooks and various other locations) strawberry shortcake (sunshine seasons) red velvet whoopie pie, seasonal/blueberry cobbler (Columbia Harbor house), warm peanut butter cake, cheesecake in a glass (pizzafari/restaurantaurus), banana parfait (Fairfax fare), vanilla cake (Fairfax fare), key lime mouse (flame tree), chocolate gelato (cosmic rays/Pinocchio village haus) and more I'm not thinking of etc etc. As you can see all of these have come from quick service places as the desert throughout property. Also I checked to make sure on the current menus if they are currently offered and they are still offered. I and/or DH had quite a few of these just in our last trip for 2 weeks oct/nov. 14.

 

[skibum123]

What's the difference b/w the normal dining plan and deluxe dining plan if apps are no longer included on the deluxe plan?

 

[sxeensweet]

What's the difference b/w the normal dining plan and deluxe dining plan if apps are no longer included on the deluxe plan?

Deluxe includes 3 dining credits for TS/QS interchangeably per day, and 2 snacks per day.
The regular plan is strictly 1 TS, 1 QS, and 1 snack per day.

 

[Baldy]

Any official word on this yet (I just emailed Disney today about my trip next year and was told that you could not share with people not on the DDP) :
"Table Service Restaurants

• There is no longer a restriction on the number of entitlements that can be used at a meal. E.g. A group of 2 guests on the Disney Dining Plan could use 1 additional entitlement for a guest in that party - making a total of 3 entitlements used for the group of 3 diners."

 

[englanddg]

Flipping out credits for 3 snacks is confirmed. I did it last trip (like...two days ago).

 

[Jon81uk]

The main thing that has changed is the wording on the brochure on how to use quick service credits has been updated to confirm you can swap a dessert or beverage for a snack, within the same transaction https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/m...alog/WaltDisneyWorld/en_us/PDF/2015Dining.pdf

This is good news if you want onion rings or soup instead of dessert. It should also confim that any slushy type drink is a drink as they are usually also a snack.

Someone has spotted that the brochure no longer states you can't spend credits on those who don't have the plan. But it doesn't state you can either.

The 1 QS for 3 snacks isn't confirmed but that has been working for a while even before these changes were "announced" so I think it is safe to assume that will continue.

 

[MickeyMomV]

The 1 QS for 3 snacks isn't confirmed but that has been working for a while even before these changes were "announced" so I think it is safe to assume that will continue.

We have done this on most every trip. It has just depended on the cast member if we swapped the QS credit for 2 or 3 snacks, some are more generous than others.

No matter how we do things we always end up with 1 set of QS credits, we have no idea how it happens!